Sherlock: A to Z
by LadySaxophone
Summary: Drabble centered around a word starting with each letter of the alphabet. Will mostly be about John and Sherlock, but may include others. Letter A: Amazing.
1. Amazing

**No spoilers for the show in this one. Maybe a little for the pilot but a basic knowledge of Sherlock Holmes would mostly keep this little drabble from spoiling anything.**

A: Amazing

Lestrade called it a necessity and that was by far the kindest word Sherlock had heard used to describe his deductions.

Mummy and Father hadn't really called it anything, but it was quite obvious from their faces and their reluctance to introduce him to others that they thought it an embarressment.

Mycroft had once been Sherlock's sole companion. He had called it a gift. But school, and then work, and then neglect had tarnished the bond between the brothers. Mycroft began using Sherlock's skill for his own purposes. He soon learned that by "gift" Mycroft had really meant "tool". Sherlock's brain was, according to Mycroft, a tool for him to use, and by extention, so was Sherlock.

Donovan and Anderson called him a freak. Nevermind that they themselves were incompitant, that without him murderers would roam the streets of London, his skills were freakish and he should be ostrasized. The Donovan/Anderson reaction was by far the most common.

Mrs. Hudson called it a nuisance. Sherlock was such a handsome young man, his ruthless deductions got in the way of him finding a nice girl (or boy) and settling down. Sitting alone and talking to a skull all day when one wasn't out solving crimes simply wasn't decent.

Lestrade, had called it a necesity and treated it as such. According to his mobile (stolen from him once when Lestrade had been particularly annoying) Sherlock had seen that his number was speed dial 1, and most of the text messages in the sent box were to him. Hell, when pushed, Lestrade would even verbally admit that Sherlock was needed.

'A necessity' had been the kindest words towards Sherlock's intellect until, for the dullest of reasons, Sherlock had met John Watson.

John Watson called it amazing.

Sherlock had been expecting a "piss off". It wasn't as if he had observed anything flattering about the army doctor, on the contrary he had deduced quite a few things normal people considered humiliating or at least private. Sherlock had been quite honestly expecting an Anderson/Donovan reaction to his deductions regarding John Watson.

But the army doctor had simply sat back and slowly told him that he was amazing.

If Sherlock had been asked about his friends prior to meeting the soldier, he would have informed the questioner that he didn't have any, and probably wouldn't have any in the near future. Ordinary people were repelled by him.

John Watson had differed from the regular reaction concerning Sherlock's gift. His reaction had been a positive one. And from that one small bit of praise from the army doctor, Sherlock began to suspect that maybe, it was possible for high-functioning sociopaths to have friends. Especially if there were people out there like John Watson to be friends with.

And that, according to Sherlock, was amazing.

AN: So I have become sadly obsessed with a certain consulting detective and an ugly sweater-loving army doctor. I'm sadly Sherlocked and well on the way to Sherlocking the rest of my family. My dad is right now stewing over the cliff-hanger in "The Great Game". Poor man. What's he going to do once he watches "The Reichenbach Fall"?

I know this theme has been used before. It's just my little take on a favorite scene of mine. It was, in my opinion a great acting moment for both Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch and a pivotal moment for the characters as well.

Next letter-B: Boring

If I may quote a Holmes: "Review at once, if conveinant. If inconveinant, review anyway.

That's acutally my second favorite Sherlock quote. Any guesses for my all-time favorite? (We're talking classic Sherlock, not the TV show) If you guess right I'll give you a free cyber cookie and 20+ brownie points! :D


	2. Bored

Bored. John Watson had grown to hate that word. Not the way one would hate stubbed toes or traffic jams, but the way one hates "break up" phrases or extended work hours. His was a deep, abiding hatred, because the word "bored" especially when uttered by one Sherlock Holmes, meant trouble; and not _the-game's-on-John-because-we-have-a-case _kind, but the _there-aren't-any-criminals-worth-my-time-so-I-stuc k-a-severed-head-in-our-fridge _kind.

When he first moved in the antics were fairly tame. (Were you to ask Sherlock why this was, he would tell you that there were a few worthy criminals who starved off the boredom for a time. Were you to ask John he would laugh and say that he thinks Sherlock was trying to keep from scaring him away?)

Whatever the reason, the fact remained the first taste of Sherlock's bouts of boredom that John received were in text message form. One day while at the surgery, John had had to turn off his phone because his text alert continued to sound over and over again without any break in between beeps. At the end of the day John had received 986 text messages that consisted of various renditions of:

"BORED!—SH"

Upon his arrival (and before any sort of protest could be made) Sherlock had pounced upon John, retrieved his phone and began counting the texts. Further inquiry proved that Sherlock was trying to see if he could exceed the amount of texts John's phone was capable of storing. John spent the next hour methodically deleting text messages.

That had been tame. John hadn't known it at the time, but that type of experiment was a sign of Sherlock being only mildly bored. One time, he came home to find the table full of feces. Sherlock had been doing some weird experiment that John decided not to inquire about. He did, however, make the horrible mistake of asking how Sherlock had acquired the poop. Needless to say, arduous apologies were made, and the flat smelled for days on end.

The most memorable bout of boredom had been when John came home to find Sherlock clad in a skin tight one-piece outfit, dancing in and out of strings of red yarn hung in zigzag patterns all about the flat.

"John, do not touch the web!" Sherlock exclaimed while trying to pull off a rather elaborate turning move between two adjacent strings.

John, used to the lack of greeting from his flat mate, pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"I know I'm going to regret this, but…what are you doing?"

"Obvious" came the distracted response from a Sherlock who was attempting a strange summersault underneath a thread

"It's not obvious to me."John answered tiredly.

Having successfully reached the edge of the room, Sherlock straightened up and faced his baffled friend.

"The protagonists in the movie we watched last night were idiots. I could have navigated the lasers much better. To test this theory I have constructed a web, and to make the game more advanced, I have laced the yarn with a mild chemical. It will cause a minor burn, hence my exception to the idea of you touching it."

The two stared at each other.

"I was BORED, John."

"And I should never have allowed you to watch _Get Smart_."

Despite his initial misgivings, John found himself clad in a similar fashion slowly dancing among the chemically laced threads. He also, oddly enough, found that he was enjoying himself.

Hence his response to Mycroft Holmes' inquiry about the nature of living with Sherlock Holmes;

"What's he like to live with? Hellish I imagine."

John was merely trying to keep the peace; Sherlock took his next comment as the highest form of a compliment.

"Well, I'm never bored."

**AN: I'm back! And to those who guessed my favorite Sherlock Holmes quote, you were right. I have more for this story and for my other ones that I shall post soon. Until then, please review and have a lovely summer!**


	3. Cluedo

**AN: All dialogue chapter! **

"Fear no more, Sherlock! I have found a way to keep the boredom at bay."

"Highly unlikely, unless you have abandoned your strong moral principle for a life of crime. And even then, your crimes would provide me with entertainment for…a day…possibly two."

"They would not! I would have provided you with entertainment for a week at least!"

"Two days, John."

"Five?"

"…Three. That's my final offer."

"Alright, I'll take it. It's irrelevant anyway; I haven't abandoned my 'strong moral principles' as you put it. But I have brought back a source of entertainment."

"There is nothing on earth that you could have provided that would interest me in the slightest."

"Now, give me some credit Sherlock! I think I may have something to tide you over until the next case."

"A bored game? Seriously, John? The word 'bored' is right there in the title. And what in God's name are you doing on the floor? We have a perfectly functional table."

"Yes, it's perfectly functional for all your science equipment. You know, in all the time I've lived here, I don't think I've ever used the kitchen table for its intended purpose."

"Your life is full of tragedy."

"Lowest form of wit, Sherlock. Besides, this isn't just any bored game, this is Cluedo! It's a detective bored game."

"Then I have no idea why you even brought it to my attention because I will doubtlessly win within the hour."

"Have you ever played before?"

"No, never."

"Well, Harry and I used to play all the time on rainy days."

"How cliché."

"So I think we'll be pretty evenly matched."

"I shall give it a chance merely for the minor amusement beating you will provide."

"Cheers. Here are the rules: The victim has been murdered and these people pictured on the box were all houseguests during the time of the crime. These were the weapons available to them. And the house the body was found in. Now you have to _deduce_ the murderer, the weapon, and the room by looking at your cards and moving your game piece. You write your deductions on this—"

"I have no need for such trivialities."

"Well you didn't have to crumple it up! I only have a few of those."

"How do you prove your claim? Doubtless mere logic will not satisfy this childish game."

"…right. Well three of the cards are put in this envelope; the murderer, the weapon, and the room. Those are the results."

"Fair enough. I suspect this game will be over within the quarter hour."

"We'll see."

_*fifteen minutes go by*_

"I'm fairly sure it's Miss Scarlett in the Library, with the revolver."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous John! Miss Scarlett obviously relies on her looks to get by in life. While she's fairly intelligent and clearly wealthy, she doesn't spend her time in libraries. She's one of those irritating flirty social types. Besides, look at how fashionable she is. Does she look capable of shooting a man? Poison would be more her style, the revolver would be far too messy going by her showy make-up and outfits. Blood doesn't always come out, you know."

"DO YOU HAVE HER CARD SHERLOCK!?"

"There's absolutely no need to shout, dear John. If you need the card, here it is."

"Looks as though you've won then, Sherlock."

"As I predicted. Now my final guess is this: The library, with the revolver, and it was of course, the victim himself."

"What?! It can't be the victim himself."

"Why ever not? All the evidence is right there. I'm surprised you don't see it yourself. Mrs. Peacock and Mrs. White have no way of acquiring a gun. Mrs. White couldn't steal it because her employer would have noticed her take it. Professor Plum was out with his class at the time of the murder and Coronel Mustard would have used his army issued gun, not a revolver. This gives everyone an alibi and the only person to own a revolver would be the victim himself, doubtless to protect his rather posh possessions."

"Don't bother checking, the victim doesn't have a…"

"Professor Plum!? But he wasn't even there at the time of the murder!"

"…card. HOW do you know that?"

"The professor has a bit of chalk on his left lapel. He'd have cleaned that off before going to so fancy a house. His clothing is brand name, but old. He's trying to give off the impression of being wealthy, but teaching doesn't pay as well. He rushed over from the college, without having time to change or clean his clothes. He's the only one pictured with a notebook, so he obviously didn't have time to go home. Probably arrived later than the rest of the guests! How could he possibly be the murderer?!"

"Sherlock….that's just the artist's interpretation to make the front of the box and the cards look cool. It has no bearing on the actual game! You _do _know that the game changes every time don't you?"

"The victim is the _ONLY POSSIBLE SOLUTION, JOHN! _Everyone else has an alibi!"

"Sherlock, it's not in the rules."

"Well then the RULES ARE WRONG!"

"You…you pinned the board to the wall…with a knife!"

"It was mocking me!"

"A knife, Sherlock!"

"You're right. We should play again. This game hasn't seen the last of me!"

"NO! No, I'll play anything else you want. You can even do whatever experiment you wish. Just…don't subject me to another game of Cluedo."

**The real authors note: I would give ANYTHING to watch Sherlock and John play Cluedo. Merely imagining the scenario had me laughing! I hope I have provided you with a humorous take on the infamous "bored" game. Sherlock's lofty answers and deductions were surprisingly fun to write! **

**If you liked it, let me know! If you didn't, tell me what bothered you.**

**In short, please review.**

**Next Week: "D" for Decision**


	4. Decision

John Watson looks terrible.

Now, you're no Sherlock Holmes, but you can deduce from the lack of a friendly smile, the forced conversation, the clothes sagging in all the wrong places from too much weight-loss, and most obviously the limp, that poor Watson has had a horrible time.

What's more is that you, yourself are w_oefully_ unequipped to fix him, if this horrible conversation is anything to go by. And to think you'd just been complaining about how much you'd changed since your college years!

John Watson had been a nice bloke, the sort who could coax a smile out of a body even after two sleepless nights of endless study. While never the most popular of students he'd had a wide circle of friends and could make even the most awkward person feel comfortable around him. Bit of a thrill seeker though, always up for trouble be it some sort of prank or a good old fashioned night on the town. In fact hadn't John been the friend who'd goaded you into skydiving that one time?

That seems to have all changed now. The playful, adventurous light that had always sparked in John's eyes has dulled and the ever present kindness is replaced with an almost animalistic loneliness-one that seems to be a defense mechanism almost.

You have always liked John, but you never could succeed in supporting him in the way he needed. Once, while you were both studying at Bart's, you had helped John tow a drunken Harry home. Completely plastered, Harry had begun hurling terrible insults against her brother; berating him for being the "perfect" Watson child and that she had no need for his oh-so-saintly pity. You can still remember the way John's face had closed off behind a stoic mask and on the ride home every inquiry or plattitude you offered was met with a gentle but distracted grunt.

And as a war vetren? It's so much worse. There's no way you can possibly relate and you both know it. He's seen and done things you can't imagine, so how can you possibly find a way to make it better for your old friend?

One thing is for sure though, John should under no circumstances be left alone.

"I don't know, get a flat share or something?"

Your suggestion (really more of a plea) is met with a snort and eyeroll.

"C'mon. Who'd want me for a flatmate?

_It is nearly impossible to find someone willing to put up with my habits. Haven't the foggiest idea why myself, but I am a most difficult man to find a flatmate for._

Sherlock Holmes and John Watson?

Sherlock had only briefly mentioned in passing his search for a flatmate and you had offered to keep a lookout for someone. Honestly, you hadn't thought about it since because you can't think of anyone insane enough to put up with the mad detective 24/7.

But here's John, a thrill seeker who's back from the war and incredibly lonely and bored. Sherlock is absolutely _anything _but boring, and probably one of the loneliest people you have ever met. It might not work, you can't really think of anyone more polar opposite of Sherlock. Then again, it could make things better too. After all, that kindness you saw in your days at Uni together has to still be in there somewhere. And who is more in need of kindness then Sherlock who's commonly referred to as "The Freak"?

"What is it?"

Watson had looked bored throughtout the entire meeting.

"Well, you're the second person to say that to me today."

It's a bit more impulsive then you're used to, but you put your faith in your decision.

**AN: Word of advice? NEVER get three jobs...it's ridiculous to try and schedule your day!**

**But here I am fanfictioning. I seriously love ****Mike Stamford and while my focus initially was, of course, on John. After watching it a few times *blushes profusely at "a few times"* I found myself sympathizing with Mike a little bit. He obviously was really happy to see John and any idiot could see that John was hurting but Mike had _no_ idea what to do or how to help him. Luckily, the crazy decision to introduce him to Sherlock Holmes paid off! ^_^**

**If you liked it, let me know! If you didn't, tell me what bugged you. In short, please review! :D**


End file.
